our 2-day itinerary in Bermuda

[curiousjayu]

Hi all --

Just got back from Bermuda, and thought I'd post our (jam-packed) schedule from Bermuda, and reviews of the different sights. To give some context, we sailed on RCCL from Baltimore, arriving in King's Wharf at 10AM on Day 1 (a Monday), and departing at 3PM on Day 2.


PRIOR TO ARRIVAL
Before arriving, we purchased two-day unlimited travel passes on the ship. We also went online to the official Bermuda government tourism site, and printed out the activities happening on the island for the two days that we were there.

DAY 1 - ST. GEORGE'S, CAVES & HAMILTON
After the ship was cleared, we disembarked and headed straight for the ferry terminal in King's Wharf. It is within view of the ship -- just a 10 minute walk. We got on the 11AM ferry and arrived in St. George's at around 11:45am.

After getting off the ferry, we walked around the main square in St. George's and walked onto Ordnance Island (a tiny island connected by bridge to the town square). We arrived just in time for a historical reenactment happening in the town square at noon. Afterwards, we saw some of the main sights in St. George. (Note that a few of the museums were closed on Monday.) St. George's is VERY small. In 5-10 minutes you can walk to the "top" of town. We first went up to the unfinished church, then walked through town and visited the Perfumery, and St. Peter's Church. There are two parallel streets where most of the shops are located, and we visited some of them. We then grabbed lunch. In my opinion, St. George's is worth a visit, but the town itself will not require too much time. If you intend to visit the fort or the beaches near St. George's, then you will need to budget more time.

We were able to do a quick tour of St. George's and then grab the Number 3 bus to the crystal and fantasy caves, which left at around 2:15pm. The ride to the caves took no longer than 20 minutes. From the bus stop, it's a 5-10 minute walk to the cave entrance. At the caves, you have the option of seeing the crystal cave, fantasy cave, or both. We opted for both. The caves are very different, so it's hard to compare. Crystal cave has a more graded entrance, followed by a pontoon bridge across water, where you see formations on both sides. Fantasy cave has arguably more unique rock formations but the area accessible to the public is smaller. There is less water and the entrance is more steep (which makes for a dramatic view). If you are limited on time, I think you'd be satisfied with either one.

After 4:00pm, we left the caves and caught the Number 3 bus into Hamilton. We arrived in Hamilton at around 4:45. Most stores in Hamilton close at 5pm, but a few on Front Street stay open until 5:00pm. We did a quick walk around Hamilton, visited some stores, and got on the 6PM ferry back to King's Wharf.

We rested and got dinner on the ship. In the evening, we did a shore excursion through RCCL -- nightime glass bottom boat ride. This was a great excursion! It was great sitting on the boat, sailing out into the darkness, and seeing the stars. The glass bottom part was cool, too, and we saw a shipwreck. Very enjoyable overall.

DAY 2 - KING's WHARF
We had planned to go back to Hamilton on Day 2, but ended up spending it at King's Wharf. Had we gotten up earlier, we might have gone to Hamilton for a few hours. But there is plenty to do in King's Wharf.

We first went to the Maritime Museum, which opened at 9:30. I really recommend this. The name, at first, did not really appeal to me, but my Fodor's guide listed it as a must-see. I'm glad we went. The museum is situated within an old fort. There are some maritime-related exhibits, but there is much more. You can visit the Commissioner's House, which has exhibits about the slave trade, stamps and coins, and tourism to Bermuda. There are also great views of the water and King's Wharf. The museum also houses the Dolphin Quest excursions. With your museum entry, you can get to see your fellow passengers shell out the big $$$ to play with dolphins!

Right across from the Maritime Museum is the Bermuda Arts Center, which features local artists. There is also a craft market right next door. There is other shopping, including the glass works and rum cake factory, a pottery store, and the clock tower mall.

We finished doing all of this by around 1:30pm and then decided to head back to the ship. We got some ice cream to hold us over!

GENERAL THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS ITINERARY
This worked well for us, because we are not big beach people. It was also our first time in Bermuda so we wanted to see some of the island's unique historical features and save some beach time for another trip.

We also had very little time in Hamilton, so we did not see many of the sights there.

Anyway, I hope this helps those of you planning your visits to Bermuda. Let me know if you have questions!!

[HeyDay218]

Thanks for the info! Im glad you enjoyed your trip! We have a similiar itenerary as far as arriving monday at 10 and leaving tuesday at 3. This will be our first cruise and first trip to Bermuda. We're not really into relaxing on the beaches even though they may be beautiful but we want to see the island! We are thinking about renting scooters for monday and being our own tour guides but the main item on my to do list is the caves. According to the RC website excursion list there is a lagoon you cn swim in...do you know anything about that? Do you recommend the scooters? I feel like we are going to be short on time but I dont want to be rushing on our vacation! How long do you think it would take to get directly from the dockyards to the caves? And what was the price for the caves (to do both) and how long does the tour take? My husband was interested in the nightlife tour. Did you see a lot of colorful fish? How long was the tour and was the boat crowded?

Thanks!!

[SailBadtheSinner]

Heyday218 -

Here is the tread from 1/27/09 that discusses swimming in the caves at Grotto Bay Resort (Prospero's Cave), 11 Blue Hole Hill, Baileys Bay http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=915751 The resort is close to St. George, about a 10 minute bus ride. The excursion to the caves was offered by NCL & RCCL. For the RCCL tour, transportation to/from SG was not included in the price.

Q: ...How long do you think it would take to get directly from the dockyards to the caves?...

A: it is about a 40 minute ferry ride from the Dockyard to St. George plus a 10 minute bus ride to the caves

Q: ...what was the price for the caves (to do both) and how long does the tour take?....

Here's a link to everything for Bermuda that will answer your some of your questions. On page 7, there is a description of the Crystal and Fantasy Caves: http://www.computerdoctors.com/bestbuds/Bermuda.pdf
I believe the tour is 1H 30M.

[Cruisenouvelle]

Just want to say thank you for posting this! We will be sailing to Bermuda for the first time in April '10, but not w/ RCCL. This at least gives me some ideas on what to see. Glad that it worked well for you!

[curiousjayu]

About the scooters -- as you will see on these boards, there are mixed opinions about that. My experience with the public transport (ferries + bus) was very positive, so I do not think the scooters are necessary, even if you're on your own. The schedules are so tight on these two-day visits, that frankly, there is not a lot of time left for leisurely exploration of the island!

Yes, the combined tour of the caves was about 1 hour 30 minutes.
I believe the combined tour price was $26 (per person).

The nightlife tour lasted about 90 minutes total. Our boat had about 40 people on it but it did not feel crowded. I'm pretty sure the cruise lines limit the number of people per boat. At least it appears RCCL did that since they split all the tour-takers between two boats. During the first part of the tour, everyone is seated on the upper deck of the boat (open air). The captain does a narration about Bermuda, shipwrecks, and more. Once they get over the reefs, everyone goes downstairs and looks through the glass bottom. We did not see very many colorful fish, but we saw tons of beautiful coral formations and some lobsters. I think it just depends on your luck. We also sailed over a shipwreck. After you see it from the glass bottom, they take you back up to the top and you can see part of that same shipwreck sticking out of the water. On the way back they have complimenatary drinks. For us, it was a really enjoyable way to end the evening! I'm not a huge fan of ship-based excursions but I'm glad we went on this one.

[saw777]

Hya,
Thanks for posting this review. It was really helped us. We are going on the explorer of the seas, in september for a b2b with the 5 nighter being the first part. It will be our first time to bermuda. We are not beach people either. My question is where is you guys go for lunch or that? Any nice places to eat and have a drink?

Thanks
Steven

[vacruisenewbie]

Thanks for the information! We were wondering what to do when we dock in Bermuda - we are cruising on Grandeur of the Seas this weekend and are hoping Hurricane Bill has dissipated by then! How was the ship itself, the food, service, rooms, etc?

[curiousjayu]

RE: lunch, we ended up eating ashore only the first day, in St. George's. We ate at the White Horse Pub. Pretty good food, nice location, but EXPENSIVE! On Day 2, we had a late lunch on the ship.

Another popular place near the dockyards is Frog and Onion Pub. Looked like a nice place.


Here's the review I wrote about the ship itself:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberre...?EntryID=57193

[snookymom]

Originally Posted by vacruisenewbie

Thanks for the information! We were wondering what to do when we dock in Bermuda - we are cruising on Grandeur of the Seas this weekend and are hoping Hurricane Bill has dissipated by then! How was the ship itself, the food, service, rooms, etc?

You will have a wonderful time unless "Bill" has other ideas. If you read this site you will find out lots of things to do & places to eat. Since you are new have you thought about joining the roll call for your cruise? You'll probably get some ideas there.
Enjoy & think of all of us who would love to be there with you.

[prudon]

Thanks so much! Just booked for Nov. 7, 09. I've never been and intend to follow your footsteps!

[GinDon]

Lunch: Depending on what time you finish with the Crystal Caves touring, you might enjoy a quick stop at the Swizzle Inn. It's only a short walk from the Caves. It's one of those "must go" places in Bermuda. You can have something to eat, and wash it down with Bermuda's famous Rum Swizzle.